As
one of WCSU’s police sergeants, Montefusco is in charge of community service
and crime prevention.

“My
goal is for the university to get all faculty, students and staff on the same
page when it comes down to dealing with the world in which we live,” Montefusco
said.“Safety and security are everyone’s responsibility and we all need to
work together to maintain the current, safe environment.”

Once nominated
for participation in the FBI National Academy by the WCSU Police Department,
Montefusco underwent an extensive background check and interview process. Only one-half
of 1 percent of all law enforcement personnel in the world are invited by the
director of the FBI to attend the academy.

Montefusco said it was an overwhelming honor to participate in the
intensive, 10-week training at Quantico, Va.

According to the FBI website,
“Established in 1935, the National Academy provides advanced investigative,
management and fitness training to senior officers who are proven leaders
within their organizations. In addition to undergraduate and graduate-level
college courses offered in areas such as law, behavioral and forensic science,
understanding terrorism and terrorists, and leadership development, students
forge lasting connections that strengthen global law enforcement partnerships.”

During
the program, Montefusco took courses in civil law, civil liability, social
media, communication strategies and labor law. He also received intensive
behavioral training taught by an FBI behavioral scientist on the human psyche, anti-social
and psycho-social behavior, and how people think.

Montefusco,
who is one of Western’s firearms instructors, studied less-lethal munitions at
the academy, focusing on the use of alternatives to guns such as batons, gas
and “everything in the FBI’s arsenal.” Relying on less lethal options for crowd
control, Montefusco said, will allow university police to neutralize a
situation in seconds without having to wait for special teams to arrive on
campus.

Montefusco poses in VIRTSIM uniform

He
also participated in the FBI’s “VIRTSIM,” which
fabricates active shooter scenarios through the use of avatars. “They can
produce any situation you can imagine,” Montefusco said, “and the avatars are
so real that it really gets your adrenaline going. I went through in a team
with 13 other guys who I had just met and we all immediately understood the
concept that we had to work together.”

Fifty
percent of the academy curriculum was based on physical training, which
included a 6.1-mile Marine Corps run-and-obstacle course called the Yellow
Brick Road. “It was some of the most grueling physical training I’ve ever
gone through in my career,” Montefusco said. “They change your life when it
comes to working out.”

Joining
Montefusco at Quantico were police officers from 17 countries and 48 states,
which he said not only enlarged his network of professional contacts but also
Western’s ability to interact with officers nationwide and internationally for
feedback on how other departments have handled specific situations.

Among the
officers in attendance were campus police from the University of Las Vegas, the
University of Tennessee, and Penn State University. Montefusco was one of only
three officers representing the hundreds of law enforcement agencies in
Connecticut.

“The
Academy gave me the opportunity to take a look at myself and my opportunities
as a police officer, how to mold other officers and all aspects of leadership,”
Montefusco said. “Overall, this rounds you off as a police officer and brought
together everything I’ve learned in my 21-year career.

“It
has also given me the confidence that any future issues can be solved,” he
said. “It’s a compliment to our department - we have a great bunch of officers,
and I understand the level of commitment and expertise that my fellow officers
hold. As a father of two children, I would feel safe having them come to
Western.”

For more information, contact the Office of University Relations, 203-837-8486.

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